Mecaflux Heliciel
Dorotha Montgonery
How to Design Propellers and Wings with Mecaflux Heliciel
Mecaflux Heliciel is a software that allows you to create and optimize propellers and wings for various applications, such as wind turbines, boats, aircrafts, fans, and more. With Mecaflux Heliciel, you can design your own blades and wings in 3D, calculate their performance and efficiency, and export them in IGS format. You can also use the software to study the aerodynamics and hydrodynamics of different shapes and profiles.
In this article, we will show you how to use Mecaflux Heliciel to design a propeller for a boat. You will learn how to:
- Choose the type and number of blades
- Define the geometry and pitch of the propeller
- Set the operating conditions and fluid properties
- Analyze the results and optimize the design
Let's get started!
Step 1: Choose the type and number of blades
The first step is to choose the type and number of blades for your propeller. Mecaflux Heliciel offers several options, such as fixed pitch, variable pitch, contra-rotating, ducted, etc. You can also select the number of blades from 2 to 8.
For this example, we will use a fixed pitch propeller with 4 blades. To do this, go to the "Propeller" tab and select "Fixed pitch" from the drop-down menu. Then, enter 4 in the "Number of blades" box.
Step 2: Define the geometry and pitch of the propeller
The next step is to define the geometry and pitch of the propeller. Mecaflux Heliciel allows you to customize various parameters, such as diameter, hub radius, blade length, chord length, twist angle, profile shape, etc.
For this example, we will use a propeller with a diameter of 0.5 m, a hub radius of 0.05 m, a blade length of 0.225 m, a chord length of 0.05 m at the root and 0.03 m at the tip, a twist angle of 15 degrees at the root and 5 degrees at the tip, and a NACA 4412 profile.
To do this, go to the "Geometry" tab and enter these values in the corresponding boxes. You can also use the sliders or the graph to adjust them. You will see a 3D preview of your propeller on the right side of the screen.
Step 3: Set the operating conditions and fluid properties
The third step is to set the operating conditions and fluid properties for your propeller. Mecaflux Heliciel allows you to specify various factors, such as rotation speed, advance speed, fluid density, viscosity, etc.
For this example, we will assume that the propeller is rotating at 1000 rpm in water with a density of 1000 kg/m3 and a viscosity of 0.001 Pa.s. We will also assume that the boat is moving at 5 m/s.
To do this, go to the "Operating point" tab and enter these values in the corresponding boxes. You can also use the sliders or the graph to adjust them.
Step 4: Analyze the results and optimize the design
The final step is to analyze the results and optimize the design of your propeller. Mecaflux Heliciel provides various outputs, such as thrust, torque, power, efficiency, cavitation index, pressure distribution, etc.
For this example, we can see that our propeller produces a thrust of 147 N, a torque of 7.4 Nm, a power of 774 W, and an
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